See Ya 2020

 I mean, let's be real. 2020 was not without challenges. 

But there was a lot of good stuff that happened too. 

Family time. My kids both got rid of training wheels. We baked. We played. We swam. We snuggled. I got a job. The kids have been at in-person school for months. (And it looks like that should continue.) 

We got some fun new stuff for the backyard. We even got to spend some time with friends. Perhaps not as much as we would have liked but still. There were pumpkins and strawberries and even apples at the last minute. 

We had a very Merry Christmas. 

Don't get me wrong. I love a good New Year every bit as much as you do. But there's still been a lot to be thankful for in 2020 and for that I am grateful. 

Enjoy this holiday kickoff to what's yet to come! May it be wonderful and just how you like it!

A Christmas Scavenger Hunt

 Our Parish planned a scavenger hunt for families to celebrate the season. No big Christmas party but we could certainly all celebrate together anyway. It was so well organized, everyone was given a list of where to start so no one place was too crowded. 

There was a combination of places to do activities and games and places that were just photo ops. 

When we did encounter others it was masked and outdoors. (Except when we went to church and even then, masked and distanced!) It was so fun and really felt almost normal. 

A big thank you to all 11 homes who opened their yards and driveways to a lot of carloads of people. 

The funniest part of the night was when I guided Husband incorrectly and we drove by a house with a bunch of people in front of it and luminaries. I said it was a good thing we didn't crash that party. Turns out... it was the next house on the map! 

We really had a nice time! Prizes are being awarded this week sometime, but even if we don't win... I am pretty sure we won in our hearts. 

'Tis the Season

 We have been trying to keep all our traditions alive. We kicked it off last night with our typical Family Movie Night pizza and our annual viewing of Elf. This year I got us all Elf shirts. 

Then today we made some of our cookies. I decided to break up the cookie making into two weekends. 

C made Peanut Butter Blossoms. 

M made Molasses cookies. 

And there were smiles all around. 

And we rounded out this evening with our first time watching Christmas Chronicles. It's the talk of the town these days and we haven't seen it before. So we needed to remedy that situation. 

Christmas movies and cookies? It doesn't get much better than that!!

Fri-Yay!

 This gal had a half-day of work today. Which was excellent. Ultimately, it was because we are getting a new server and we couldn't be on our computers for a single second today. We had training on the new server yesterday... 

And it was long and boring. And I had to have my phone to my ear the whole time. I sent myself the video though because they are realistic. 

Anyway, we went in this morning and tackled the file pile... and we finished it!! 

For sure took a picture to prove it happened!! :) 

This made me laugh out loud. So I am sharing it with you. 

This also made me laugh out loud. I am for sure one of those "never call me" people. Getting phone calls at work is still the worst and I seriously pray that no one calls me daily. Send me an email!! A text! Why do you need to talk to me? 

And that's about what I know. Happy for the weekend and some special time with the family. More on that soon! 

Whisk It Up

 Well, you probably know that St. Nicholas visited on Sunday. 

At our house, he always brings a pair of Christmas/holiday/winter pajamas. This year he also brought the much sought-after Thermos. It was a hit. 

M was very excited because her pajamas had a baking theme. And we were listing the items that were on the pajamas as we were telling my parents and mentioned how they have whisks on them. They asked if she knew what a whisk was. And she said "I know about Whisks. It's for when you circle up pancakes." And she mimed whisking pancake batter. Circle up = mixing

It was for cute. 

M asked to make brownies on Monday afternoon. This morning we told her she could! She wore this mask today made by her friend's Grandma. Isn't that so sweet? 

During the day I realized that today was actually International Brownie Day! Isn't that crazy?! I had no idea. But it made for good timing! She came home and got to work. 

And here she is about to put them in the oven. They turned out super tasty too. 

So whatever you're baking this month, I hope you whisk it up like my girl. 

Gingerbread 2020

In a year with many changes and compromises, I am so grateful we could still make Gingerbread Weekend 2020 a great one. I am exhausted right now, I am not going to lie. But it was fun. And every year we get a little better at planning ahead and that makes the whole thing so much fun for us! 

What's undoubtedly enjoyable is that the kids have very specific ideas in mind now which is helpful! 

C picked a white, red, and green theme. I love it!

We ran out of gummy bears to keep the pattern going. I honest to blog almost ran to the store to buy some more for him but ultimately he went with a whole 4 bars of mint Kit Kat for the other side. (Don't be surprised if you see another gummy bear roof in the future, I love it!) C loves all things sour, gummy, and minty. Which is pretty much what his house is made of! 

M had a very very specific plan for her house this year. She had sketched it out about a week in advance. She really wanted pink frosting. 

So pink frosting she got. Please note the Tootsie Roll "curtains" over her Starbust "windows." She spent a great deal of time and care getting her house just right. 

And then the adults. I was ADAMANT that we were going to plan in advance this year and keep the actual Gingerbread weekend slightly less stressful. I only partly won. We did talk through it and sketch it out last weekend. But our cardboard model didn't get built until Friday night. 

I had done some more research this year of techniques I wanted to try and I ordered the sheets of gelatine to use as windows ages ago. And I'm not going to say it wasn't stressful. It was. I have absolutely no chill when it comes to Gingerbread house. 

But it turned out alright. As it usually does. And we ended up with this monstrosity. 

As always, everything is edible except for the lights. And by edible I mean you could eat it. But you wouldn't want to. 

Things to remember for next year: make the royal icing with the paddle, not the whisk. Buy more brown gel food coloring. Buy some bigger piping bags and the clamps once and for all. And take a deep breath, it's probably going to be fine. 

Gingerbread is one of my favorite traditions and I am so so glad to be able to share it with my family. 

Oh Hey There!

And whether we like it or not, here comes December. Okay, I admit it, I do like December. I mean, it is a little weird and sad there's no Disney on Ice this year but there's still cookies and Christmas movies. And tons of other things to do! Which makes the month magical all the same. 

We've got festive shirts to bust out, including the Christmas panda shirt M got to wear for out of uniform day. 

Stay tuned for more seasonal goodness coming your way soon! Have a wonderful December weekend!

And We Made It To Advent

 And just like that, it's Advent. Which, logically makes sense. But in all seriousness, it's strange. Since Lent came in with a global pandemic and everything has felt a little topsy turvy, it seems a little bit weird to be to Advent already. 

We decorated for Christmas on Friday. It was a lovely experience. Our decorations may not be the most exciting but they're ours and we are happy with them. 

The weekend was just all around, calm and lovely. I'll tell you, weekends are the most wonderful now that I am working. Perspective is just so wonderful. 

Thanksgiving Was Good

Thanksgiving here was low key but good all the same. Honestly, yesterday looked much the same as every other Thanksgiving for us, we never go anywhere. The strange part was we made traditional menu items instead of our typical whatever we want options. 

The day started with our mandatory pajama party viewing of the parade. We also had our monkey break because we love traditions. Honestly, I thought the parade wasn't all that different than normal... bright spots. 

We put our turkey in the rotisserie and it turned out just as delicious as usual. We honestly don't do anything but add a little bit of Canadian Chicken Seasoning and Lawrys Seasoned Salt before sticking it in. It just cooks in it's own juices and is really good! (And I don't like turkey typically!) 

We also got a special treat my parents sent. There is a chocolate shop in their town that makes the most delicious orange gel sticks. They sent us some as a Thanksgiving treat. 

We enjoyed the day and are very thankful for our health and happiness. 

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

We are coming in hot to Thanksgiving break. So far so good with staying in school. Our numbers at school have been very minimal, thankful families are being conservative with quarantining when necessary which has kept the school open. 

Most of the public schools and a few private schools in the area have transitioned to being online only for the next few weeks because cases are high. We are praying for this virus to go away and doing what we can to keep life running smoothly in a time of so much uncertainty. 

Our family is committed to doing what is needed to keep the school open and safe. All the classes have practiced Google classroom so if we should need to switch tactics we are prepared but we're hoping for the best at this point which is all we can do. 

The transition to me working has been really great. My job was initially supposed to be part-time, but on my first day, we were notified that Husband's office was closing until the new year. So since he is home anyway and can pick the kids up after school, I am working close to full-time hours while I learn and get acclimated. It's a whole new field to me and there's a lot I don't know yet, but so far, things have gone quite well. 

Every day, I get a little better. 

This week my phone switched to say my name and I got a fob to get in and out of the office without having to barnacle my way in. I had been arriving extra early and just waiting in the parking lot for someone to walk in with. 

Since I haven't spent as much time with the kids, I got a Thanksgiving cookie kit to do with the kids this weekend. Yesterday we gathered and created some cookies and I think they turned out pretty cute considering we are not professionals. My friend owns a cookie company and has these creative cookie kits monthly, but this was our first time participating. 

She included everything we would need, including instructions and there are even videos to walk you through the steps as well. Plus fun Thanksgiving glasses.

It was a fun and yummy activity and I am so thankful we got to spend some time together as a family doing something special. We're all looking forward to this week and some of the fun traditions the season will bring. 

We haven't decorated for Christmas yet. I was vetoed by one resident 8-year-old who is clinging to all traditions very hard in this year of upheavals. While I 100% would have decorated early and love seeing pictures of setups that are already in place, I can see how following our normal routines can be helpful as well. Whatever it takes to bring a little joy and order to the crazy right? 

What's Going On?

 Oh hey there. 

This week has flown by. 

Sunday night ended in an absolutely beautiful sunset. 

And thus my new chapter began! I spent the rest of the week here: 

This is my new cube. (Workstation? I don't know.) 

I wasn't looking for a job mind you, but it found me. And everything kind of fell into place more perfectly than I could imagine. So here I am. Working! 

It's different. But good different. 

Now I am off to enjoy my weekend! 

An Afternoon With My Girl, An Evening With My Family

Such an absolute gift we've been given with sunny days with warm upper 60s, even dipping into the 70s weather. Yesterday M and I spent the entire afternoon and evening outdoors which was wonderful! 

She helped me rake a bunch of leaves and got the pleasure of jumping in the pile. 

It was such a beautiful afternoon! Just little wisps of clounds, and it was raining leaves. Which felt magical instead of sad or gloomy, the way it does when it's quite crisp. 

She practiced her hula hoop some more. And we enjoyed our time so much that M asked if we could have a Solo Stove dinner. That had already been a plan of ours for this weekend so we just moved it up. You see, we have today and tomorrow off school for conferences so it was a Wednesday Friday! 

I got the fire going completely by myself. My first time doing it with no help! I was pretty pleased. 

 And we had a great time eating hot dogs and smores made with Halloween candy. We also sang some campfire songs which sounds absolutely ridiculous, and it kind of was. But in a super cheesy fun way that made my heart explode with happiness. 

These simple pleasures and time with my family is such a joy to me. 

Frozen Art

There's been a lot of art created at my house lately. M got an art kit for her birthday, similar to the one her brother got for his. And they draw and color for hours. We recycle a lot of paper at our house. 

This weekend she drew this picture. Sven. Anna. Elsa. Elsia. Olaf. Ania. Kristoff. (Elsia and Ania are the Barbie-like dolls that are the kid versions of the characters.) 

There's a lot to glean from this art. First, it just makes me happy that she's creating fan art. Secondly, on this election day, it serves as a good reminder to me. 

That no matter how much it seems like we are heading "Into the Unknown" the sun is going to rise tomorrow. And no matter what the outcome, hopefully, people will be willing to "Let It Go" and get through the next 4 years without a whole lot of diatribe and anger. 

Here's the best news of all... no more political ads!! YAY! 

And this drawing also just makes me want to color. So I might. There are certainly worse ways to pass the time. 

 

Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween from C3PO and Anna! We had a wonderful Halloween day, heading into a beautiful Halloween night! 

Last year it was snowy and super cold. Today was 60 and sunny. Halloween perfection!! 

I hope however you celebrated the day it was fun and safe for you. 

Pumpkin Fun

This week has been a busy one but we are ready for Halloween and what that looks like for us this year. 

Tomorrow is the kid's Halloween party at school. Both kids are entering the pumpkin decorating contest. 

Here's M's pumpkin: 

Here is C's: 

Other than a little help cutting out the foam and hot gluing, they created these all by themselves. Okay, I also stuck some pumpkin seeds in the oven to dry them out for a few minutes for M's pumpkin. But I would have definitely done another coat of red on M's but it's not my competition! They are a strawberry and a penguin if that isn't immediately obvious. (And they may not be...) We will drive them to school tonight so they will be all set. 

We also carved our jack-o-lanterns last night and they turned out pretty cute. We kept it simple this year and let the kids actually do some of the carving with those little pumpkin tools. 

Husband made his work pumpkin today. It turned out pretty cool. I mean, it's creepy, but it's for the office contest so I think that's okay?

We are pumped for this weekend and all set with our pumpkins!